Becky's Race: A Prophecy Tale
by wolfchic011
Summary: A interlude story from The Prophecy of the Star part 2. Falco challenges Becky to a race.


Becky's race: A Prophecy Tale

The day was sunny and mild. A light breeze blew through the 'Sa village clearing away the morning fog and sending the smoke and smells of the marketplace wafting upward towards the top of the tallest cliff.

Becky breathed deeply trying to clear her head. For what she was about to do, she would need complete and utter focus. She blocked out everything: the smells from below, the feel of the wind in her hair, even the complete and utter silence of the cliff. When she was ready, she opened her eyes.

"You ready?"

Becky smiled. "Bring it on."

Falcoté smirked. "On three?"

They took their positions. "One…" Becky counted. "two…."

"THREE!" Falco shouted without warning. But Becky had been more than prepared for that. Even as the man tried to get a head start, she was sprinting right along with him. The pair reached the edge of the cliff and without a second's hesitation, threw themselves off it.

They fell in unison, the wind screaming past them as they hurtled down the cliff. Dimly, Becky was aware of Falco's joyous scream to her right but her focus was on the spires of the temple that were growing larger every passing second they fell. The two fell faster and faster, neither wanting to be the first to rise as it would cost them the advantage of a good starting speed. So the temple loomed ever closer, the sharp rooftops gleaming wickedly in the sun, the tiles gleaming blackish-green in the sun…

Half a foot above the range of the spires, Falco abruptly pulled out of his dive and shot straight up.

Becky waited the tiniest fraction of a second longer before pulling herself upright and sliding on her feet along the curve of the roof. She shot off the corner of the roof and rocketed back into the sky, cutting Falco off in the middle of a barrel-roll.

"Whoa there!" He cried, swerving mid-roll to avoid hitting her. "No need to show off!"

"Who's showing off?" Becky taunted, flipping upside down as they soared over the courtyard.

Falco smirked and shook his head. "Oh, you're pretty confident for an amateur!"

Still upside down, Becky scoffed. "Amateur?" She righted herself. "You'd better watch that arrogance, Falco! I was taught by Sarvavi herself!"

Falco shot forward and swerved underneath her. "Yeah?" He asked as he rolled over to grin up at her. "And who do you think she practiced with?" Then he was off with a fresh burst of speed.

Becky eagerly followed as they shot off the top of the temple cliff and dove towards the village below.

* * *

Whooping and yelling, the pair shot over the bustling marketplace. They circled the fountain at top speed and raced back the way they'd come. Becky ignored the sounds of confusion that trailed after them as they traced duel paths of red light in the sky.

"Hey Wordgirl." She turned to Falco. He grinned toothily at her as they swept over the canopies of the merchants below. "How about we make this a little more challenging?"

A smile curled up her face. "What do you have in mind?"

He abruptly vanished downwards, straight into the confusion of the market. Becky hurriedly followed, shouting apologies over her shoulder as she breezed over peoples' heads. She traced Falco's trail before it could disappear, weaving over shop canopies and dodging the occasional pole or hanging sign. She caught Falco halfway down the main drag of the central street.

And abruptly swerved into the side of the building to avoid being hit by the pie he threw at her. She ran along the wall briefly before getting back into the air.

"Hey! We never said projectiles were allowed!" She protested as he heaved a loaf of bread in her direction. She dove under it and had to quickly pull up again to avoid hitting the table of the screaming village potter.

Falco shrugged, scooping up a basket of fruit from an unsuspecting merchant as he shot by.

"Never said they weren't." He twisted in the air so he was facing her and began lobbing fruit at her, all the while still rocketing backwards through the air at top speed.

Becky dodged and ducked against the never ending rain of fruit. She had to wait for just the moment… push him a little closer…

They arrived back at the fountain just as the flying man ran out of projectiles. Perfect.

Becky put on a burst of speed, easily passing Falco. As he too sped up to keep her in range she put her plan into action. With the pot she had swiped from the potter's table, she scooped up an impressive amount of water as she led Falco in a lap around the spray. As soon as she was ready she changed direction and shot off down another street. Falco pursued her, the two of them skimming over the heads of the pedestrians. Halfway down the street, Becky rose and turned the pot upside-down.

Falco sputtered as he flew straight into the falling curtain of water.

"Hey! When..?"

But Becky was already gone, laughing at the top of her lungs as she dove back into the rush of the marketplace. Without Falco throwing things at her, it was easy to make her way through the confusion and aim for the street across the square. She left the pot in the hands of the man walking out of one of the shops along the street.

"Hey watch it!" Two-Brains called after her. Becky only laughed. She was tempted to swing back and drop something on the villain's head but at that moment Falco suddenly caught up to her. At such close range the juicy fruit he lobbed in her direction couldn't miss. And sure enough, it hit Becky right in the chest.

Her balance compromised, Becky did the only thing an honorable racer could do. Kick Falco in the chest to send him spinning off course. The two went spinning in opposite directions, their senses of direction twisted by their motion in the air.

Becky barely managed to level out a few feet above the street. That is until she crashed headlong into someone and they went tumbling over and over in the dust, Becky coming out on top.

"Wordgirl! I… I" She glanced down in shock. A furiously blushing Tobey stared up at her. "You… you're…"

A streak of red light passed overhead, accompanied by raucous laughter. Becky hurriedly detached herself from Tobey and stood.

"Sorry can't talk now…" And she was shooting back up into the sky, leaving a very confused (although not entirely unhappy) Tobey sprawled on the ground.

Determined to have her revenge and her victory, Becky shot through the air like an arrow and collided hard with the flying man. She then grabbed him by the wrists and tried to twist his arms around his back. He responded by squirming and wrapping his legs around her waist so wherever he went she would have to follow.

Locked together, they somersaulted through the air, neither one sure where they were going or even which way was up. That is, until Becky's foot clipped the roof of a building and the crashed to the ground on an empty back street demolishing a few poor crates full of nuts. They broke apart upon impact and rolled in opposite directions, breathing too hard to continue and laughing too hard to breathe.

After a few breathless minutes, Falco rolled to his feet and offered her his hand.

"You alright?" He helped her to her feet.

She stumbled to her feet her head still spinning. "Yeah… I think so…"

He ruffled her hair. "You sure? You look a little unsteady…"

Becky batted his hand away and smiled at him. "That was… fun…" She hadn't felt this way since before Huggy left. "Thanks for suggesting it."

He grinned back and crouched as if to take off again.

"What are you two doing?" They whirled around together, all the humor instantly melting off their faces.

Sarvavi was standing at the other end of the alley, her hands in her pockets, her gaze dangerously calm.

Falco quickly drew himself into attention. "General… I was… we were just…"

Sarvavi raised an eyebrow, looking at Falco's dripping hair with particular interest.

"He was showing me how to fight on the fly." Becky said quickly. Falco shot her a brief, grateful look.

"Ah ha…" Sarvavi said, eyeing the broken crates and nuts spilled everywhere. Becky hastily covered the fruit stain on her chest by casually crossing her arms.

"Well be more careful in the future. We only have so much that we can afford to waste." She looked at Becky but made no indication that she had seen the stain.

Becky and Falco nodded in unison. "Of course General." Falco said with a respectful bow.

Sarvavi stood completely still as the pair practically tiptoed around her. Once past the warrior, Becky tried not to glance at Falco, lest that should incriminate them in some way.

They walked quickly trying not to run or jump into flight again, Becky daring to hope that somehow, miraculously, they were getting off without punishment.

"Oh, you two." Sarvavi called after them. They turned around, Becky trying to keep her face innocently impassive as her chest clenched in fear.

Sarvavi looked very intently from one to the other. "I'm going to Zete for an update. We'll be in the downtown meeting area. I'll be taking the main roads and listening very intently to the sounds of the marketplace. Wordgirl, I expect to see you for knife lessons in half an hour in the combat room. Don't be late." She then turned on her heel and walked away.

Falco waited until she rounded the corner before he turned to Becky. "Did she just…?"

Becky only smiled. "Race you."

* * *

Sarvavi waited until she was a street away before rising into the air to fly level with the rooftops. Then she watched the two streaks of light race their way around the village, laughter and occasionally screams resounding in their wake as they wreaked havoc.

She chuckled softly. "You haven't changed a bit Falco…" Then she landed back on the street and continued on her way, recalling a very similar race against the flying man in a similar village that had ended quite differently and brought the man into her life in a way she would never regret.

* * *

This probably happened sometime between chapters 12 and 13.

I just feel like Becky and Falco would have been great friends once Becky got past the whole "are you my father?" issue and didn't think I would get much time to develop it in the main storyline. And I needed some happiness amongst all this darkness and mystery. I know updating for the main story has been rather slow for the longest time and I apologize for that. I'm entering a part of the story that is rather difficult for me to write and all the drafts I've written have sounded boring to me so I deleted them and started again.


End file.
